Towards Better Work in Central America: Nicaragua and the CAFTA Context

Abstract

Like many other low-income industrializing economies, Nicaragua’s export sector relies heavily on apparel manufacturing for revenues and employment. However, at least among the major garment-producing countries in the Western hemisphere, Nicaragua is unique: unlike the majority of its neighbours in Latin America, its apparel industry has expanded since 2005. In this sense, Nicaragua’s experience counters a general trend in the global garment industry towards greater concentration in Asia, and particularly China, the world’s largest clothing exporter.